The story of a woman who has been sweeping the streets for free for more than 10 years in Vinh city

Born in 1945 in Hoa Son commune (Do Luong district), after a period of working as a defense worker, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa returned to work as a clerk at the Nghe Tinh Health Department and then got married. In 1992, her husband passed away, leaving her alone. Her life now depends only on a monthly pension of 3.6 million VND according to the pension scheme for retired workers.

After retiring, she lived alone in a house in a small alley in block 7, Hong Son ward (Vinh city). Being a hard worker, in her free time she took out a broom to sweep the small alleys around her. This work gradually became a habit and every day, at exactly 5am she woke up to cook, clean the house and then at 6:30am she cleaned and swept the trash all over the streets in blocks 6, 7, 8 in Hong Son ward and the sidewalk of Tran Phu street. In the afternoon, she went out to sweep again.

Every day, Mrs. Hoa still diligently sweeps the neighborhood. Photo: Hoang Hao

When asked why she is committed to this job, she happily said: "People spend money to exercise to stay healthy, but I exercise for free and also clean the environment."

For more than 10 years now, regardless of the season, whether it is sunny or rainy, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa has swept the streets twice a day. She also regularly reminds the residents of the block to be more conscious, not to litter, and to maintain public hygiene.

Due to the after-effects of the bombings, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoa's hearing became increasingly deaf, so she had to speak very loudly to be heard. But gradually people understood and loved her more. The block had a rule that every Sunday morning, all households had to participate in public service to clean up the environment, but because Mrs. Hoa cleaned every day, people in the area only needed to come out and help. To thank Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoa, many households offered to contribute money to support her, but she refused.

Many times when they saw her cleaning up the trash, the children in the neighborhood also helped her. Photo: Hoang Hao

Also because of her deafness, in May 2018, while cleaning, Ms. Hoa did not hear the horn and was hit by a motorbike, breaking her ribs. People in the neighborhood came to visit, encourage and take turns taking care of her... After being discharged from the hospital for a few days, Ms. Hoa had to roll up her sleeves and go back to her old job.

Talking about her, Mr. Nguyen Huu Quy and Mr. Tran Anh Tien (Block 7, Hong Son Ward) shared: Everyone here loves Mrs. Hoa. Seeing her old age but diligently cleaning up trash for free for the whole neighborhood every day, we advised her to rest but she refused. Perhaps that is her joy, the joy of someone who loves to work, and wants to contribute her small efforts to make her neighborhood cleaner and more civilized.